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Tesla Cybercab doesn’t have any manual controls
Confirmed
In Short: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has initiated an investigation into Tesla's deployment of approximately 1,000 driverless Cybercab vehicles in Austin, Texas.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has launched an investigation into Tesla's deployment of approximately 1,000 Cybercab vehicles in Austin, Texas, that have no steering wheels or brake pedals. According to NHTSA documents, the vehicles lack permanently attached, conventional manual controls such as a brake pedal, gas pedal, steering wheel, and mirrors.
Tesla has certified these vehicles as compliant with all applicable federal motor vehicle safety standards, but NHTSA is examining the process and technical data Tesla used to make that determination. The investigation, called an Audit Query, will also assess whether Tesla was correct in determining that certain federal vehicle safety standards were not applicable to the Cybercabs.
Tesla plans to gradually expand the deployment of Cybercabs to other locations and vehicle models, with the company's CEO, Elon Musk, stating that Tesla should no longer be regarded as an automaker but as a robotics and autonomous vehicle company. The investigation comes just hours after Tesla welcomed hundreds of fans to downtown Austin to ride in the driverless Cybercabs.
While 45 of these vehicles are currently in Texas' Tesla fleet, the company intends to deploy millions annually on its Robotaxi ride-hail network, which is currently operating in a handful of cities in Texas and Florida. Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News.
What's confirmed
What's still developing
- Tesla’s Cybercab, a distinctive two-seater without a steering wheel or brake pedals, is set to start picking up members of the public in two states.
- Tesla, however, has said it doesn’t need an exemption because its vehicles comply with all existing safety standards.
- “For Tesla to slap them in the face and ignore that—that is gobsmacking,” she says.